Cold Water & White Eyes

Summary: Kayla sets out with her father and an old man on his boat. On their way they encounter a group of killer whales

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“Well, Kayla, what do you think?” my dad asked as he snapped another picture. As a wildlife photographer he took me to Norway for a new assignment. In a tiny village he had asked an old fisherman if he could help us cross the water to the other side. He had mumbled and shrugged, but he had allowed us on his small fishing boat and we were now crossing the sea between one island to another.“It’s beautiful,” I answered, between shivering and shuddering. Despite the thick blue coat, gloves, hat, scarf and boots I had never been so cold. Ahead of us an enormous white mountain arose on the island and seemed to be surrounded by a few houses. The mountain stood, like my father had said, like a solemn and lonely king, watching over his people. He could be dramatic like that.“See!” the old man said and pointed towards the water. Black fins broke through the surface as rays of water sprayed into the air. A family of orca’s had noticed us and were curiously coming closer. Immediately my father turned his camera and made pictures, while he mumbled an old Haida legend. Gentle calls and whistles echoed over the icy blue water.

Bonk. Bonk.The boat rocked and my father and I leaned forward and peered outside the boat. Two grownups and a what seemed to be a teen were swimming underneath the boat, while the rest of the group swam at a safer distance.“Careful, careful,” the old man said and gently took held my arm.“I will,” I smiled, but immediately peeped my head over the side of the boat again. As the sun breached the clouds, the whales swam around our boat. Their deep black skin and white eye patch soared beneath us, weightless, effortless and in every way beautiful. Finally I caught the real eye of one of them. They looked at me so straight, I wondered what it was thinking. The orca popped its head up above the water and was so close I could almost touch it. Perhaps, I thought, if I just get a little…bit…closer.“Kayla!” I heard my father shout, but before his big hands could grab me, the sounds of the world were absorbed by the water.

For a moment my entire body hurt. It seemed like a thousand icepicks pierced my body with inhuman strength. I wanted to scream and yell from the pain. But it only lasted for a moment, then I saw the wonderful world I had landed it, then I was calm.Cold yet beautiful blue water surrounded me, as a family of orca’s swam around me. The young ones were kept at a distance, but one of the adults slowly swam my way. As he circled around me I tried to keep eye contact, but it was difficult to see underneath the water. I was not afraid, I felt calm and safe.The whale got closer and I could touch him. He felt like leather, but soft and slippery at the same time. He didn’t seem to care that I stroked his back. Slowly he turned and one of his flippers touched my feet. Gently I was pushed a tiny bit upwards. As I looked up I saw how far the upper world had floated away. I could see the boat and I think I saw my father and the old man. They threw something in the water, but I was too far to reach it. And too tired, I realized. I wanted to yawn, but it seemed that I had lost all control over my muscles. The orca looked at me again, as to reassure me. He was right. I knew he was right as I looked around. This was a beautiful place to die.For the last time I stretched my hand and touched the leathery skin. Peaceful calls and whistles echoed through the water and I could feel their vibration. I was not afraid. My heartbeat was calm and I did not even need to breath.For the last time I looked around. The younglings were coming closer, even though their parents wanted them to stay close.For the last time I closed my eyes and the orca close to me called out. His vibrations went through my body and I exhaled the last bit of breath still in my body. Darkness surrounded me as the orca near me gently pushed again. Not yet knowing, it was too late.

It’s beautiful, I thought, beautiful...

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Debora Hellinga

savageamelia22:
Thus is a great book. You write like there's no tomorrow and it's amazing. When my cousin(AProudWeeb) had wattpad i took her phone and came upon one of your stories. It was called the bad boy and the Cheerleader. It was awesome. So i got wattpad on my phone and started writing. Then Inkitt. I lov...

Alicia Cameron:
A rich business CEO (Tobias) has never had a girlfriend because he doesn't date, instantly promotes one of his fairly new employees (Ruby) to be his PA for no real reason other than her education. Tobias has a reputation, and is known to be cold, but Ruby breaks through his wall and gets to know ...

Adebola Olabenjo:
I'm not really into reading as it bores me out but when I came across this great book, i knew i could manage to read it.The characters are indeed very interesting and I like the twin characters especially.The description is quite captivating and the book is full of drama, romance, jealousy and go...

BelovedMarionette:
A definite must read. I was riding the emotional rollercoaster with each of the characters through the entire first and second story and by the end of it all I was very happy with the outcome. I would have loved some background plot expansion and closure on certain things that happened between sp...

Je13ss:
Where do I even begin? This book is amazing! It has had the ability to keep me absolutely glued to my phone wanting to finish it to the very last word of the very last chapter. I'm excited for the next update. Ecstatic! The author has done a superb job in truly describing the characters and allow...

Silently_Writing:
This was my first book read on this site, and I'm so happy it was! I loved this from beginning to end. There were so many little details added in the greatest places, suspense and mystery at unexpected times, and a wonderful story built and concluded.

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